October

October 1

1754 – Anthony Henday stopped with the Blackfoot Indians at the present site of Red Deer, Alberta.1764 – A proclamation of 1763 came into force, replacing military by civil rule.1853 – For the first time since it was founded in 1844, Toronto, Ontario’s Globe newspaper began publishing daily.1916 – The second war loan was oversubscribed by $100 million.1930 – An Imperial conference was opened in London. Prime Minister R. B. Bennett represented Canada.1958 – Canada House at New York was officially opened.

October 2

1535 – Cartier landed at Hochelaga, the site of Montreal.1847 – A telegraph service was opened between Montreal and Quebec.1871 – The sod was turned for the Prince Edward Island Railway.1887 – A sturgeon, 11 feet 9 inches long and weighing 822 pounds was caught at Ladner, British Columbia, and towed to New Westminster.1895 – The Mackenzie, Yukon, Ungava and Franklin districts were formed.1955 – The Canadian Unemployment Act came into force.1958 – Founding of the Centre for Research on French Canadian Culture in Ottawa, Ontario. It was created to encourage and promote the study of francophone culture.1960 – The first Canadian conference on children was held at St. Adèle, Quebec.

October 3

1836 – The Assembly of Lower Canada declined to vote money for government expenses.1871 – The Manitoba Government issued an order-in-council for defence against the Fenians.1874 – Edward Blake outlined the “Canada first” program.1927 – Prime Ministers of Canada (Mackenzie King) and Britain (Baldwin) inaugurated a transatlantic telephone service.1955 – A federal-provincial conference was opened at Ottawa.

October 4

1764 – An ordinance regulated foreign currency.1860 – Church union began at Pictou, Nova Scotia.1909 – Governor-General Earl Grey laid the cornerstone of the Parliament Building, Regina.1913 – A new customs agreement between Canada and the United States went into effect.1922 – A hurricane led to a forest fire and the loss of forty-one lives at Haileybury, Ontario.1927 – Airmail service was begun at northern mining communities.1950 – An oil pipeline was opened between Edmonton and Regina.1954 – Delegates from seventeen nations in the Colombo plan met at Ottawa.1963 – A strike of 1,300 longshoremen began in the St. Lawrence River ports.1964 – This Hour Has Seven Days first aired on TV.

October 5

1793 – Captain Vancouver left Nootka, Vancouver Island, and explored the coast as far north as Alaska.1835 – Citizens of St. Andrew’s, New Brunswick, held a public meeting in support of the building of a railway to Quebec.1871 – Fenians tried to capture the Hudson’s Bay Company post at Pembina, on the Manitoba border.1878 – The Marquis of Lorne was appointed Governor-General of Canada.1903 – Alberta College (Methodist) was founded at Edmonton.1955 – The Canadian Government announced a plan to build a large power plant in Pakistan as part of the Colombo plan.1982 – Laurie Skresiet was the first Canadian to reach Mt. Everest’s summit (in Nepal).

October 6

1744 – A force from Louisburg abandoned the attempt to capture Annapolis Royal.1868 – Prime Minister Macdonald proposed better terms for Nova Scotia for joining Confederation. This led Howe to join Macdonald’s government.1890 – The United States put the McKinley high tariff plan in effect against Canada.1911 – The Laurier government resigned after having been in power since 1896.1948 – A Newfoundland delegation arrived in Ottawa to discuss terms for entering Confederation. The agreement was signed on December 11.

October 7

1663 – Jean Baptist le Gardeur de Repentigny was chosen as the first mayor of Quebec.1763 – The Treaty of Paris went into effect. King George III issued a proclamation annexing the Island of St. John (Prince Edward Island) and Cape Breton to Nova Scotia. The territory of Quebec was defined.1876 – The Northwest Territories were organized with a government and a capital.1963 – Eleven members of the F.L.Q. (Quebec separatist movement) pleaded guilty to terrorism. Their sentences ranged from six months to twelve years.

October 8

1804 – The schooner Speedy was lost on Lake Ontario with distinguished passengers aboard. In 1804 an Indian, Ogetonicut, arrested near York, was accused of murdering a trader, John Sharp, at Lake Scugog. The trial was to be held here in the projected, but never completed district town of the Newcastle District. On October 7, the schoonerSpeedy sailed from York. Her passengers, in addition to the prisoner, included Solicitor-General Robert Gray, Judge Thomas Cochrane, High Constable John Fisk, and other participants in the trial. The ship appeared briefly off Presqu’ile on the 8th, before vanishing forever. The loss of so many prominent persons was a severe blow to the small colony.1904 – Edmonton was incorporated as a city.1904 – An Anglo-French Newfoundland Fisheries convention settled the question of shore rights for French fishermen. France surrendered these rights in return for cash indemnities and territorial concessions in Africa.1906 – A federal-provincial conference opened at Ottawa.1907 – The Transatlantic wireless opened for public service.1951 – Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip began a tour of Canada which lasted until November 12.1960 – The Federal-Provincial Constitutional Conference of Attorneys-General, which had met in Ottawa to discuss amendment of the BNA Act, came to an end.1964 – Chief Justice G. S. Challies of the Quebec Superior Court was named commissioner to inquire into the fatal crash of the TCA aircraft at St. Thérèse, Quebec, November 29, 1963.1964 – The eighteenth Olympiad commenced in Tokyo, Japan. The gold medal for coxless pair rowing was won by George Hungerford, Vancouver, and Roger Jackson, Toronto.

October 9

1682 – Joseph le Febvre de la Barre and Jacques Demeulle were appointed Governor and Intendant of Canada, replacing Frontenac and Duchesneau who were recalled. Demeulle created “card money” (see April 18).1811 – The first Selkirk settlers for Red River landed at York Factory, Hudson Bay.1820 – A proclamation rejoining Cape Breton to Nova Scotia was issued. They had been separated in 1784.1838 – Lord Durham resigned as Governor of British North America.1899 – The Soulanges Canal was opened. This completed a waterway from Quebec to Lake Superior.1909 – The Grand Falls Paper Mill opened in Newfoundland.1918 – Canadian troops were in action at Cambrai, leading to the end of World War I.1961 – Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt opened Memorial University at St. John’s, Newfoundland.1963 – The United States and Canada agreed to store nuclear missiles in Newfoundland.

October 10

1792 – Alexander Mackenzie left Lake Athabaska for a trip to the Pacific (see July 22)1864 – Delegates from Canada and the Atlantic Provinces gathered at Quebec to draw up a a framework for Confederation. The conference lasted until October 28.1878 – The Liberal government under Alexander Mackenzie resigned after their election defeat. The Conservatives under Sir John A. Macdonald came into power.1911 – Sir Robert Borden succeeded Sir Wilfrid Laurier as prime minister.1950 – Canada and the United States ratified the Hydro Power Treaty.1973 – Pierre Elliot Trudeau became the first Canadian Prime Minister to visit China.

October 11

1676 – Public markets were established at Quebec, Trois Rivières, and Montreal. Trade elsewhere was prohibited.1776 – Sir Guy Carleton defeated the Americans at lake Champlain but General Benedict Arnold escaped.1875 – The first Icelanders arrived at Winnipeg.1910 – The Ontario Hydro Electric system was opened at Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario.1917 – An order-in-council prohibited strikes and lockouts during the war.1952 – The fist hockey game to be telecast in Canada is aired on Montreal, Quebec’s CBFT.1958 – Prime Minister Walter Nash of New Zealand visited Ottawa.1960 – The Federal Government announced a program to help low income families obtain rental housing.1962 – Two hundred Canadian Starfighter aircrafts left for Germany.

October 12

1689 – Frontenac arrived at Quebec for his second term as governor.1841 – Alexander McLeod was acquitted in the Caroline case that almost caused war between Britain and the United States.1887 – Sir Richard Cartwright, a prominent Canadian political leader, supported unrestricted reciprocity with the United States.1907 – The Canadian Government agreed to pay for damages caused by mobs raiding the Chinese and Japanese sections of Vancouver (see September 9)1957 – The Honourable L. B. Pearson, Minister of External Affairs, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

October 13

1755 – A large number of Acadians were deported to South Carolina.1812 – General Isaac Brock was killed in battle at Queenston in the war of 1812. His troops went on to victory, driving the Americans back across the border.1899 – Canada organized a contingent to fight in the South African war.1917 – The first class were called to military service under the new conscription act.1957 – Queen Elizabeth made her first television broadcast.1961 – The Canadian Maritime Union was formed to compete with the Seafarers International Union.1962 – A bad storm on the Pacific coast killed forty-six people in British Columbia and the United States.

October 14

1747 – Admiral Hawke defeated a French fleet bound for Canada.1841 – A Royal charter was issued for the University of Kingston (Presbyterian).1844 – John A. Macdonald was elected to Parliament as member for Kingston.1935 – The Liberals won a general election with 173 seats, Conservatives 40, Social Credit 17 (first time), C.C.F. 7, Reconstruction Party 1.1952 – The Honourable L. B. Pearson, Minister of External Affairs, was elected President of the United Nations Assembly.

October 15

1851 – Lady Elgin turned the sod for the Northern Railway.1864 – Premier Tilley of New Brunswick, at the Quebec Conference, demanded that a railway be built between Canada and the Maritime as a condition of Confederation.1884 – The first issue of La Presse appeared in Montreal.1953 – The Trans-Mountain oil pipeline was completed between Edmonton and Vancouver.1954 – Hurricane Hazel killed eighty-two people and caused $24 million damage.1959 – The provinces demanded a greater share of taxes at a federal-provincial conference.

October 16

1679 – A meeting of the Quebec Council voted that liquor should not be taken to Indian villages.1820 – Cape Breton was returned to Nova Scotia following the proclamation of October 9.1869 – Joseph Howe left Fort Garry after a fact-finding trip for the Government.1911 – Winnipeg received the first electric power.1914 – The first contingent of Canadian troops for World War I landed at Plymouth.1918 – Canada and the States made a reciprocal trade arrangement whereby the States took wheat and flour from Canada.1942 – R.C.M.P. patrol vessel St. Roch completed a voyage from Vancouver to Halifax via the Arctic. The ship left Vancouver June 2, 1940.1946 – Hockey’s Gordie Howe scored his first NHL goal. He was playing against Toronto.

October 17

1760 – Sappers under “Foul-weather Jack” Byron, grandfather of the poet, destroyed fortifications at Louisburg, Nova Scotia. The work took two years.1777 – The Americans defeated the British under General Burgoyne at Saratoga.1794 – Captain George Vancouver sailed from Nootka Sound after his third voyage.1877 – Chief Sitting Bull refused to return to the United States (see May 6).1878 – Sir John A. Macdonald became Prime Minister again and remained in office until his death in 1891.1910 – The first cruiser of the Royal Canadian Navy, J.M.S. Niobe, arrived at Halifax.1963 – Old Age Pensions were increased to $75 a month.1971 – Premier Alexei Kosygin of Russia arrived in Canada for a nine-day state visit.1977 – First telecast of the House of Commons debates.

October 18

1646 – The Iroquois broke their peace agreement and killed Fathers Joques and Lalande.1748 – By the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, Louisburg was restore to France in exchange for Madras, India.1951 – Canada agreed to maintain an army and air force in Europe under NATO.1957 – The Montreal Herald stopped publication after 146 years.1963 – Longshoremen marched on Ottawa protesting the appointment of trustee to oversee their affairs.1965 – Abraham Okpik became the first Eskimo member of the Council of the Northwest Territories.1980 – The Metro Toronto Zoo boast first African elephant to be born in Canada.

October 19

1690 – Phips’ attack on Quebec was repulsed at Beauport.1787 – The Mississauga Indians in Ontario were given a grant of land and 2,000 pounds. They owned the very valuable land between Toronto and Hamilton, and other areas.1864 – Confederate soldiers in the American Civil War attacked St. Albans, Vermont, from Canada.1869 – The Red River Métis organized themselves on hearing the news that Canada was taking over Hudson’s Bay Company territory.1869 – The last spike of the European and North American Railroad was driven at Vanceboro (near the Maine-New Brunswick border).1987 – Stock market crashed. It was the worst drop in Toronto Stock Exchange’s history.

October 20

1686 – An Ursuline convent, founded in 1639, was burned at Quebec.1818 – The Convention of London regulated the North American fisheries and the boundary west of Lake of the Woods.1855 – The Government moved to Toronto.1867 – Ottawa was proclaimed as the seat of government of Canada.1887 – A conference of premiers endorsed reciprocity with the United States.1899 – Britain and the United States failed to agree on the Alaska boundary.1919 – United Farmers won the Ontario election; E. C. Drury became premier.1920 – British Columbia ended prohibition by voting for government control.1922 – Bonar Law became the first man born outside Britain to become British Prime Minister. He was born at Rexton, New Brunswick.1960 – Sir John A. Macdonald Hall, the new law school of Queen’s University, was officially opened by Prime Minister Diefenbaker, and Dr. John Bertam Stirling was installed as the University’s eighth Chancellor.1964 – Charges of police brutality at demonstrations during the Royal Visit to Quebec were termed exaggerated in the report of Acting Attorney-General Wagner.

October 21

1755 – Another large group of Acadians was sent to British colonies in the south.1852 – Robert Campbell began the 3,000 mile snowshoe walk of his 9,000-mile journey to find a wife (see September 6).1876 – Manitoba’s first wheat shipment to eastern Canada: 857 bushels of Red Fife.1880 – A contract was signed with the present Canadian Pacific Railway Company to build the transcontinental railway.1886 – Canada protested the seizure of United States fishing vessels in the Bering Sea.1887 – Premiers met at Quebec to discuss grievances against the Federal Government. Premier Mercier of Quebec mentioned the possibility of his province’s leaving Confederation and becoming the “Laurentian State.”1963 – The House of Commons concurred in a report of the Committee on Privileges and Elections to give precedence in the House to the Thompson Social Credit Party. It also recognized the Caouette Social Credit Rally.1965 – Governor-General Vanier officially opened the Concordia Bridge, linking Montreal Island with the man-made islands of the Expo ‘67 site.

October 22

1690 – Phips abandoned his attack on Quebec and sailed down the St. Lawrence.1846 – The first telegraph company was formed to serve Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara.1958 – Blanche Margaret Meagher was appointed Ambassador to Israel, the first Canadian woman to hold such a post.

October 23

1785 – The Government of New Brunswick was moved from Saint John to St. Anne’s Point, now Fredericton.1837 – A meeting at St. Charles on the Richelieu River, Quebec, marked the beginning of the rebellion in Lower Canada.1847 – A telegraph service was opened between Montreal and Albany, New York.1952 – Canadian troops fought in the battle of “Little Gibraltar Hill,” Korea.1958 – An explosion in a coal mine at Springhill, Nova Scotia, killed seventy-four miners.1963 – The Maritime Union Trustees Act received royal assent. It appointed a three-man board to oversee maritime unions.1964 – Quebec Superior Court Justice Adrien Meunier was sentenced to imprisonment for two years on three perjury counts. This conviction of a judge in Quebec was believed to be without precedent.

October 24

1705 – An Act of Parliament provided for uniform circulation of card money (see April 18).1852 – The Toronto Stock Exchange was opened.1903 – The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway received a charter to build a line between Quebec and Winnipeg.1921 – The Bluenose won in the International Schooner Championships.1945 – Canada officially joined the U.N..

October 25

1666 – Radisson and Groseilliers had an audience with King Charles II who promised them ships for an expedition to Hudson Bay (see August 28).1768 – Port La Joie, founded by the French, was renamed Charlottetown in honor of the wife of George III.1780 – Sir Frederick Haldimand, Governor of Quebec, protested that laws favoured merchants and not the inhabitants.1798 – A boundary commission made the St. Croix River the southern border between New Brunswick and Maine.1920 – Plebiscites in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia resulted in large majorities for prohibition.1951 – Montreal, Quebec became the fist Canadian city to reach a population of over one million.

October 26

1678 – The “Brandy Parliament” met to discuss the sale of liquor to the Indians.1774 – Congress invited the people of Canada to join the thirteen American colonies opposing Britain.1848 – Ottawa University was opened.1850 – Captain McClure of the Royal Navy discovered the Northwest Passage while searching for the Franklin expedition.1934 – The Honourable H. H. Stevens resigned from the Bennett government and formed his own Reconstruction Party.1950 – Canada and the United States announced agreement on six economic principles for joint defence production.1982 – Parliament amended the July 1st’s national holiday name: Dominion Day became Canada Day.

October 27

1812 – The second party of Selkirk colonists arrive at the Red River.1835 – The legislature of Lower Canada opened an important session that dealt with a measure to light Montreal with gas.1856 – The Grand Trunk Railway was opened between Montreal and Toronto.1883 – Sir John A. Macdonald appealed for financial help for the C.P.R., then almost bankrupt.1961 – The Victoria Rifles of Canada celebrated its centennial. It is the oldest regiment in Montreal.1962 – A new agreement averted a strike of 6,000 employees of the C.P.R.

October 28

1790 – The Nootka Convention concluded, ending Spain’s claim to what is now the Pacific coast of Canada.1851 – The Hincks-Morin government came into power.1891 – The Supreme Court declared the Manitoba Separate School Acts unconstitutional.1926 – The Queen of Romania visited Ottawa.1950 – Governor-General Alexander’s term of office was extended for one year.1954 – R.C.M.P. patrol boat St Roch, which went through the Northwest Passage both ways, ended its career in Vancouver where it is now on display.1958 – Prince Philip visited Ottawa until October 31 as President of the English-speaking Union.1958 – Prime Minister and Mrs. Diefenbaker began a tour of European and Commonwealth countries.1960 – The Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, received a gift of one million dollars for medical research from Garfield Weston, Canadian industrialist.

October 29

1653 – Radisson escaped from the Iroquois and went to Europe.1899 – The first Canadian contingent for the South African war sailed from Quebec.1923 – Bluenose defeated Columbia by one minute in an international challenge race (see March 26).1925 – General election: Conservatives took 116 seats, Liberals 101, Progressives and Independents 28, Labour 2. Nevertheless, Liberal Leader Mackenzie King formed a government by obtaining the support of the Progressives.1952 – An international joint commission approved the joint Canada-United States application for permission to develop the St. Lawrence River power.1955 – The latest type destroyer H.M.C.S. St. Laurent was commissioned at Montreal.1964 – The final report of the Special Committee on the Canadian Flag was presented to the House of Commons.1964 – Henry Asbjorn Larsen, the noted Arctic explorer and R.C.M.P superintendent, who captained the St. Rock, died.

October 30

1773 – A meeting at Montreal petitioned King George III for an Assembly.1846 – The Great Western Railway was authorized to extend from Hamilton to Toronto.1869 – The British Government urged British Columbia to join Confederation.1917 – Montreal and Toronto stock markets put a minimum price system into effect.1929 – Ontario voted for continuation of the Liquor Control Act.1962 – Canada voted not to allow Red China to join the United Nations.1963 – A member of the Quebec F.L.Q. separatist group was sentenced to three years in prison for his part in a bombing incident.1995 – Quebeckers (is that even a word?) rejected sovereignty by a slim margin: 50.6 % voted no!

October 31

Annual: Halloween1685 – La Salle began his exploration of the Mississippi.1780 – The schooner Ontario was lost on Lake Ontario.1873 – The International Bridge was opened at Niagara.1902 – Marks the first official message over the Pacific Cable. Sandford Fleming sent the message to Australia.1919 – Werner Horn was sentenced at Fredericton to ten years in prison for attempting to blow up a bridge across the St. Croix River on February 2, 1915. It was wartime sabotage organized by a German spy ring operating in the United States.1950 – A 1,000-mile pipeline was completed between Edmonton and the Great Lakes.